I cried for hours

[Henriettta]

I'm so sorry for what happened to you. I know how you could feel, my old dog, trained to live with the chickens in the same garden one day killed a rooster that bothered him sometimes, after that I found 2-3 dead chickens, even after we added a muzzle on him. He's already getting paralyzed and now our sweet new shepherd is in charge, other is soon to be euthanized for his condition. Always was a hunter, but never of our own animals before.
Still, the most annoying was the husky of our ex neighbour, unexpectedly breaking fence and killing, tearing apart and eating, or stealing chickens. The owner knew it well and didn't give a ****... Anyway I think the poor dog was hungry, had a dominant other husky there(and 4 other small whatevers), maybe for being submissive, couldn't eat much. I'm only angry with that arrogant woman, not even the dog, because she never did anything, first time she "fixed" the hole on our(anyway perfect) fence but very poorly, after only put a piece of metal to the other hole, even that I had to be the one to fix... Payed the first chicken, never again, because there was no 'proof'... She took 8, and hurted a favourite seriously, that survived, but disappeared some weeks after, leaving a pile of feathers only.
In comparison, the fox took 2 all these years(my first groups favourites in the same time together of course...) the neighbours were here for one year, divorcing and leaving very fast luckily... Never before and after had problems with dogs, one often visits our pile at night, but letting the pasture run open make it do no damage, so I just open that door, for it don't climb the chicken wire.

Oh my god this would make me absolutely livid. I sincerely don't understand the lack of responsibility your neighbors had in this situation. If my dog broke out and killed someone else's animal, I would be indebted to them forever. I would feel so embarrassed and ashamed. I notice that a lot of people do not view chickens as animals. They claim to be animal lovers, but with the exception of chickens. Does that make sense? Not to me. They are our pets
Your ex-neighbor sounds like they had a huge lack of respect. Unbelievable. I'm so sorry for your losses. I hope someday you get a neighbor who feels blessed to have a neighbor with eggs.

 

[Henriettta]

My husband was not impressed after I called him sobbing this will never, ever happen again​

Good i hope it does not again i am really sorry for your loss i lost 2 lavender orpingtons and 3 baby ducks to some dogs

Not the Orpingtons!!! I don't know what in the hell got into his head. I simply cannot understand why he did this. It makes me sick. It's true what they say. Never turn your back on any dog with small animals&babies

 

[Henriettta]

I'm so sorry this happened. Every one of us here feels you, believe me. We've all lost chicks or chickens one way or another, in spite of our best efforts to keep them safe. It's disheartening and discouraging, to put it mildly. Please don't give up. Learn and try again. You will succeed.

I really needed this... Truly. Permission to try again Discouraging is a good word for it.. Thank you for being kind

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Not the Orpingtons!!! I don't know what in the hell got into his head. I simply cannot understand why he did this. It makes me sick. It's true what they say. Never turn your back on any dog with small animals&babies

Depends on the dog, Henrietta. I have two Shelties that hang out with my chickens all the time and protect them from coyotes. They eat their scratch (and their poop) and I trust them implicitly. You can't judge all dogs by the actions of one.

 

[Henriettta]

Depends on the dog, Henrietta. I have two Shelties that hang out with my chickens all the time and protect them from coyotes. They eat their scratch (and their poop) and I trust them implicitly. You can't judge all dogs by the actions of one.

I must say- I read this funny at first and my first thought was
"Rewind... Who's eating who's poop?" I did get a chuckle
I know you're right, I just never imagined Teddy would do this after so long, and am very disappointed (and a bit disturbed)

 

[.:Rusalka:.]

Oh my god this would make me absolutely livid. I sincerely don't understand the lack of responsibility your neighbors had in this situation. If my dog broke out and killed someone else's animal, I would be indebted to them forever. I would feel so embarrassed and ashamed. I notice that a lot of people do not view chickens as animals. They claim to be animal lovers, but with the exception of chickens. Does that make sense? Not to me. They are our pets
Your ex-neighbor sounds like they had a huge lack of respect. Unbelievable. I'm so sorry for your losses. I hope someday you get a neighbor who feels blessed to have a neighbor with eggs.

Thank you very much. Yes, It's unbelievable to me too. When I had ours escape, I didn't come home without him, and didn't enter the house before making sure it never happens again(wind blew gate open until I was outside and it wasn't locked) they just let them go... The other was aggressive, so even could threathen humans on the way. Their fence was full of unfixed holes... Also they nearly never were at the house, so it looks stupid being an animal collector with the 6 dogs, and 3 horses who were constantly watching the gate with hope..
Do you know what she said after telling her her dog jumped the fence and killed other?? That sure it wasn't her, she sees a lot of stray dogs too and wants to report it anyway to the local government.... Those "lots of stray dogs" is the pet of a family that escapes sometimes but harmless. Maybe she meant her own two huskies that were out more than in their garden...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I must say- I read this funny at first and my first thought was
"Rewind... Who's eating who's poop?" I did get a chuckle
I know you're right, I just never imagined Teddy would do this after so long, and am very disappointed (and a bit disturbed)

Glad I got you to giggle. Laughter is good medicine. Well, now you know your Teddy can't be trusted, so you'll take precautions. Many years ago I had another Sheltie I KNEW could not be trusted around baby ducks. I could see it in his eyes. And sure enough, despite my caution, he sneaked away from me once and murdered 6 hatchlings. Didn't eat them. Totally my fault, of course. I wasn't careful enough for thst split second, I wsn't paying attention. So you just have to know your dog. And always, always, predator-proof the birds.

 

[.:Rusalka:.]

Oh my god this would make me absolutely livid. I sincerely don't understand the lack of responsibility your neighbors had in this situation. If my dog broke out and killed someone else's animal, I would be indebted to them forever. I would feel so embarrassed and ashamed. I notice that a lot of people do not view chickens as animals. They claim to be animal lovers, but with the exception of chickens. Does that make sense? Not to me. They are our pets
Your ex-neighbor sounds like they had a huge lack of respect. Unbelievable. I'm so sorry for your losses. I hope someday you get a neighbor who feels blessed to have a neighbor with eggs.

Forgot the funniest part! After the divorce the guy stayed, she packed up horses, dogs, children and was gone for good. Except letting the one who killed the chickens... At first I thought she will come back for her just the car was full, but no. The guy said he doesn't know why and don't know what to do with the dog. Luckily never did anything again, for that I believe it was for her being hungry. The guy took her as the house got sold.

 

[orloffer]

Not the Orpingtons!!! I don't know what in the hell got into his head. I simply cannot understand why he did this. It makes me sick. It's true what they say. Never turn your back on any dog with small animals&babies

I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine how very upsetting it must be to lose your precious chicks, especially ones of a breed you were so excited about.

Even dogs who are typically predictable or trustworthy can and will succumb to their natural instinct at times. His instincts are what got into his head. Though domesticated and trained, he is still a predator who is hardwired to chase down and kill small creatures that move. He may know that his owners generally don't want him going after their other animals, but he is a dog, and in a dog's world chasing and killing is perfectly acceptable, even desirable. Perhaps because the chicks were in a room in your house rather than out in a coop / run as he normally knows chickens to do, he viewed them as "different" and "part of his territory" or "something for him." Or maybe the fact that the brooder had no lid and he had direct access to the little balls of fluff was just too much for him to handle this time.

You will probably feel resentful toward him for a while, but I urge you not to treat him harshly. Unlike humans, dogs are very in-the-moment thinkers, which means if a person acts mad at or punishes a dog for something bad it did earlier, the dog will not connect the punishment to that past action. I know with my own puppy it is extremely hard not to continue being mad at her for some time after she does something I perceive as bad, but I know that being angry doesn't help her or me, and that she doesn't know that the thing she did was unacceptable in human society.

Please understand that I'm not saying I support your dog's actions in any way, or that I don't feel bad about what happened; I just believe it is helpful to analyze the situation from perspectives other than our immediate one as humans. Having empathy for the dog will not change what happened (and again, I am so sorry about what happened!), but it will help us realize and reflect on why he acted as he did.

 

[SusanMc]